Hewitt, a medical marijuana patient and caregiver as provided for under Amendment 20, spoke to the Daily Press about his home-based dispensary a few weeks ago. Now, he’s partnering with Gregg Davis of Grand Junction, and both men hope to open storefronts, with ambitious plans to help others.
Hewitt said Monday that he took down the signs at his Montrose home at the request of his landlord, but still is able to provide medical marijuana to people with valid prescriptions. A friend of his — who does not use pot — became so worried about federal raids, that he no longer stops by Hewitt’s home.
 Montrose resident William Hewitt holds a leaf from one of his marijuana plants at his home in early February. (William Woody / Daily Press File Photo) Advertisement |
Davis, a medical pot patient for three years, has been researching opening a dispensary in Grand Junction for the past six months, and is assembling a team, plus hiring an attorney, to help him with the business plan.
“When Bill (Hewitt) came out in the paper, I was, ‘Well, the public knows,’” Davis said. He then contacted Hewitt.
To date, the men have registered Hewitt’s “THC with TLC” as a Web domain name and the site will be up and running soon. Davis hopes to secure storefront property for his Grand Junction dispensary on Patterson, while Hewitt is eyeing a downtown location for his smaller office.
Both plan to have their offices up and running within the next two months and said they will do whatever is necessary to ensure customer comfort and safety.
A forum for medical marijuana patients will be held at 7 tonight at the library. The meeting is open to the public for question and answer at 8 p.m.
The business partners also tout their not-for-profit’s mission statement: “to promote the welfare of patient members by providing a medium to create a safe, consistent and reliable source of quality medical marijuana at the lowest possible recovery amount for the medicine.”
The medical marijuana is to be distributed on an as-needed basis to those with valid medical marijuana cards. Davis said they would take donations for the marijuana, and they plan to donate the money back to the area communities.
“It’s not marijuana that’s my focus. It’s the disabilities,” Davis said. “With us being a collective, us getting donations...we’re going to give right back to the community.”
Their work is not without opposition.
Though Colorado’s Amendment 20 allows people to receive medical marijuana cards for designated chronic diseases and chronic pain — with a medical doctor’s say-so and appropriate, state-sanctioned registration — medical marijuana is illegal under federal statute.
And, now, the state is considering changing certain requirements that would limit the number of medical marijuana users that caregivers like Hewitt and Davis can help to a total of five. The proposed changes would also require signatures on application forms to be notarized and accompanied with proof of identity.
Hewitt and Davis urge medical marijuana supporters to attend a rally at noon, March 18, at Denver City Hall (4300 Cherry Creek Dr.) to oppose the proposed caregiver limitations.
“They want to send everyone on out the streets for their medical marijuana,” Davis said of the state.
The purpose of his and Hewitt’s cooperatives is to ensure that patients do not have to expose themselves to that kind of risk.
“Our organization is to help people. To stop people from having to go to illegal drug dealers,” Hewitt said.
He also reiterated that he does not dispense marijuana to anyone other than those who are authorized under state law to have it — and that physicians decide who is eligible. Hewitt does not issue medical marijuana prescriptions. “I can only direct them and allow (a doctor) to decide whether they qualify,” he said.
Both he and Davis are determined to set up dispensaries.
“I’m proud of what I do, and for the people I help,” Hewitt said.
“A brick wall is not going to stop me,” Davis said.
Hewitt encourages calls at 901-0778, or e-mails at thc_with_tlc@yahoo.com. Davis can be reached at 623-1669 or gregg_thcwithtlc@yahoo.com
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User